I Was a Disbeliever
by Desert Baileya
Summary: My first Harry Potter fanfic---review away, and flame if you must, but go easy!


*DISCLAIMER: the main character, Aria, and her family are mine, but the rest belong to J.K. Rowling including the Hogwarts environment, etc. etc.*  
  
I awoke on one very normal morning, donned my very normal clothes and went about my very normal morning routine. I brushed my teeth and hair, had my breakfast, and wandered about the house in a bored stupor.   
  
It was the summer holiday, and although I was inclined to spend the days frolicking outdoors in the sun (or more accurately, the foggy atmosphere), I had been holed up in my house for weeks. I'm not quite sure why I was having such an introverted time of it, but the answer (I guess) came when I had just decided to plop onto the sofa and watch the television.  
  
The shadow of some creature literally swooped across the t.v. room, gliding casually and disappearing. I was inexplicably fazed for a moment, because nothing like that had ever happened before. Nonetheless, I was wont to wave it off as a bird flying a little too close and went back to pretending to enjoy some silly children's show. I was just about into the program (which was one where some puppets were beating each other up) when my grubby little sister with the pug nose traipsed into the room and tossed a strange letter onto my lap.  
  
"Mail for you, though I don't know who would be writing. It's not like you have any friends."   
  
I grabbed one of the sofa pillows and chucked it at her head, and she ran off squealing (very much like a pig, I'd say) leaving me in relative peace. I carefully plucked the envelope from my lap and examined it. It was rather large and manilla-strange because the only envelopes I had ever seen were plain white. Along the front it had my name and address stenciled in what resembled calligraphy and-my, was that green ink? Hmm, so it was.  
  
Flipping the envelope over, I took a moment to admire the old-fashioned wax seal bearing the single letter "H" before carefully peeling it open. Inside was tucked a large sheaf of, well, I can't call it paper because it was too thick. It was much more like parchment, really, and at the top was a header with the same seal and the words "Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy".  
  
My eyebrows rose in wonder, and I glanced about the room to see if anyone was watching. Witches and wizards? Nonsense. Everyone knew there was no such thing as magic...right? I had the notion to just chuck the silly letter into the garbage, but something told me to read onward. I suppose it was my sense of humor, as awry as it seems to be, so I did as I told myself and browsed through the letter.  
And then I read it again, this time more closely.  
  
My eyebrows rose even higher in wonder. Was this a joke?   
  
I rose from the sofa and tiptoed my way out of the room, glancing about. I was almost about to turn back around thinking no one was home when my mother rounded the corner and stopped, smiling brightly at me.  
  
"Your sister said you got a letter. Who's it from?"  
  
I froze for a moment, wondering if I should tell her or not. I opted with the most honest of answers, "I don't know."  
  
Her smile wilted slightly, replaced by a somewhat troubled gaze. I knew it was troubled, because her brow got a little crinkle in it whenever she was thinking. She came towards me and held out her hand. "Well now, let's see it, shall we? Perhaps I will know."  
  
I froze again. Damn, she's going to laugh, I just know it. I carefully dropped the unfolded letter onto her palm. Well, if she was going to stand there and offer, I might as well let her read it. I mean, what's the worst that she could do aside from cuff me and tease a little?  
  
This idea, however, fled from my mind as I watched her read. Her eyebrows rose and lowered in turn, eyes widening and narrowing until I thought they were going to burst right from her skull. She looked up at me slowly, and so astonishingly did she smile that I felt the breath knocked from my lungs. Smiling? Oh, here comes the teasing.  
  
"I was wondering if you were ever going to get this."  
  
I stared, and then I blinked, and then I shook my head as if to clear it of something. "What?"  
  
"I was. I had thought that you would get a letter one day, but I was starting to lose hope. This is going to be extremely fun, I daresay."  
  
My head swam, or at least it would have had I been in a pool. Yes, it would have detached itself from my shoulders and swam far, far away. That's exactly what I felt like doing right at that moment, and I groaned just to show it. "Mum, please don't poke fun at me. It's just junk mail, throw it away."  
She laughed, and that made me bristle in defense. "Oh honey, really, come sit down and let me tell you a story." I shook my head. "I don't want no story, mum, I just don't want you poking fun at me either." Her eyes narrowed slightly and one brow arched high. I knew I was pushing the limits: this was the look she wore whenever she was getting a bit annoyed.   
  
"Sit down now."  
  
I hurried back into the room with my mother on my heels and planted myself on the edge of the sofa, crossing my arms in rebellion. I was damned if I was going to like listening to the story. She sat down next to me, oblivious to her oldest daughter simmering like a pan full of mushrooms, and began to talk.  
  
And talk...  
  
I'm not going to relate her tale to you verbatim, simply because it is much too much to write, and I've better things to report, so I'll shorten it immensely: my mother's mother was a witch who attended this school, etc, etc. So in essence I inherited some magical talent from my grandmother, and that is why this mysterious school sent me a very odd letter requesting I come learn with them.  
I squinted at her. It was all really unbelievable, even to a gullible pre-teen such as myself. Nonetheless I leaned forward and pecked my mother on the cheek, thanked her for the lovely bedtime story, and headed up to my room where I fell promptly asleep on my bed, hoping to dream away the strangest afternoon of my life. 


End file.
